Royal Australian Navy warships will be better protected against
the threat of anti-ship missiles following a decision that
opens the way to equip the ships with an upgraded version
of the Evolved Seasparrow missile system, the Minister for
Defence, Senator David Johnston, announced today.

Seventh Fleet and the Navy Warfare Development Command tested
maritime obscurant generator prototypes June 21-25 to assess
their tactical effectiveness for anti-ship missile defense.
The systems
and tactics were tested under a variety of at-sea conditions
using assets from the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force to evaluate
how radar-absorbing, carbon-fiber clouds can prevent a missile
from detecting and striking its target as part of a layered
defense.

ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions AG, a company of ThyssenKrupp
Group, and Saab AB today entered into an agreement on the
sale of Swedish shipyard ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems AB (formerly
Kockums) with facilities in Malmö, Karlskrona and Muskö.
The purchase price is SEK 340 million (around €37 million).
The transaction is subject to the approval of the board and
supervisory bodies of the ThyssenKrupp Group as well as the
Swedish Competition Authority.

The
FREMM Normandie multi-mission frigate, second of the series
ordered by OCCAR on behalf of the French DGA (General Directorate
for Armament) and the French Navy, has just completed five
weeks of intense activities off the Toulon coast. These trials
have allowed the validation of the frigate’s combat
system performance before its delivery to the French Navy
at the end of 2014.

BAE Systems has been awarded a contract to produce and deliver
four 57 Mk3 Naval Guns to the Mexican Navy. “This contract
award further strengthens our strong position in the naval
guns market,” said Lena Gillström, managing director
of Weapon Systems, Sweden, at BAE Systems. “This competitive
win shows that BAE Systems’ world-leading 57mm naval
gun and ammunition systems continue to be selected as the
best solution for both new and existing customers around the
world.”

Northrop Grumman Corporation and the U.S. Navy demonstrated
a new multimode maritime surveillance radar on the MQ-8B Fire
Scout unmanned helicopter that will drastically enhance long-range
imaging and search capabilities for Navy commanders.

USS Pennsylvania (SSBN 735) with its Gold Crew aboard, returned
home to Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor June 14 following a 140-day
strategic deterrent patrol, setting a new record for the longest
patrol completed by an Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine.

The keel laying and authentication ceremony for the amphibious
assault ship, the future USS Tripoli (LHA 7) was held at the
Huntington Ingalls Industries Pascagoula shipyard June 20.
Ship Sponsor Mrs. Lynne Mabus and retired Lt. Cmdr. Steve
Senk, the chief engineer of the previous Tripoli (ex-USS Tripoli,
LPH 10) served as the keel authenticators. The laying of the
keel traditionally marked the first step in ship construction.

Australia
Launches New Pacific Patrol Boat Program to Strengthen Security in Pacific
Region

A new $2 billion Pacific Patrol Boat (PPB) Program unveiled
today by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Defence Minister
David Johnston aims to significantly strengthen security in
our region. “The Pacific Patrol Boat Program is an important
pillar of the Australian Government’s commitment to
working with our regional partners to enable cohesive security
cooperation on maritime surveillance, including in fisheries
protection and transnational crime,” Minister Bishop
said.

Royal
Navy AW159 Wildcat Helicopter lands for the first time on HMS Illustrious
Aircraft Carrier

The
Royal Navy’s new helicopter has paid its first visit
to HMS Illustrious – dropping in on the veteran carrier
during a submarine hunting exercise off Cornwall. Wildcat,
which will replace the long-serving Lynx on the front line
from next year, touched down on Lusty in the middle of Exercise
Deep Blue.

Saft
Wins Major Contract from DCNS for Electrochemical Stacks for F21 Heavy
Torpedoes

Saft,
the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of advanced
technology batteries for industry, has been awarded a multi-million
Euro torpedo electrochemical stacks contract by DCNS, a world
leader in naval defense and an innovative player in energy.
Under this long-term contract, Saft will supply silver oxide-aluminium
(AgO-Al) electrochemical stacks for PB-61 powering heavyweight
F21 torpedoes.

DARPA
and U.S. Navy Sign Agreement to enable small ships to serve as mobile
bases for UAVs

DARPA
and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) recently signed a Memorandum
of Agreement (MOA) on a joint DARPA/Navy research and development
program called “Tern.” This joint effort builds
upon the existing work of DARPA’s Tactically Exploited
Reconnaissance Node program, or “TERN,” which
has been exploring concepts for a long-endurance and long-range
aircraft that would operate from a variety of Navy ships.

Philip Dunne MP, Minister of Defence Equipment, Support and
Technology, today announced that Thales has been awarded a
contract worth €56 million (£48 million) from the
UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) for the demonstration and manufacture
of the Future Anti Surface Guided Weapon (Light) system.

Northrop Grumman Corporation and the U.S. Navy successfully
flew the unmanned MQ-8B Fire Scout simultaneously with the
MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter for the first time. The capability
demonstrates how a mix of aircraft can increase a ship commander's
intelligence-gathering capabilities aboard the Littoral Combat
Ship.

The U.S. Navy awarded Raytheon Company a $115.5 million contract
to remanufacture, overhaul and provide upgrades to Phalanx
Close-in Weapon Systems (CIWS). The CIWS is an integral element
of the Navy's Fleet Defense In-Depth concept and the Ship
Self-Defense Program..

Indra
will equip two new submarines of the Republic of Korea Navy
(ROKN) with its electronic defense system PEGASO. These submarines
are part of the third phase of the submarine acquisition program
started by the ROKN in the 90’s. New submarines will
be designed and developed in South Korea and will incorporate
significant improvements.

Defence
and security company Saab announces that the Polish Navy has
chosen the Double Eagle system for the Kormoran II MCMV. The
Double Eagle is in service with several navies, in the Baltic
Sea, in the North Sea and around the world as a state of the
art, well proven, low risk and extremely efficient mine countermeasures
(MCM) underwater vehicle

Schiebel´s
dedication to the maritime domain and its ability to respond
to the evolving unmanned systems requirements lead to a series
of trials for the Brazilian Navy from 2nd to 5th June near
San Pedro, Brazil, from the Brazilian Amazonas Class Ship
APA.